Radio Bulgaria

“Always peaceful, my people today is longing for its cultural and economic progress; in this direction nothing should hamper Bulgaria; nothing should be an obstacle for its prosperity. This is the desire of my people, this is their will - let it be what my people want. Inspired by this sacred deed and in order to serve people’s will, with God’s blessing I proclaim Bulgaria, unified on September 6,1885, an independent Bulgarian kingdom. Long live free and independent Bulgaria. Long live the Bulgarian people!” This is part of the manifesto of Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, who proclaimed the independence of the country on September 22, 1908 in the city of Tarnovo.

Why did it took 30 years after the signing of the Treaty of Berlin, which revised the Treaty of San Stefano, for Bulgaria to proclaim its full independence from the Ottoman Empire.

“The proclamation of independence was the final step of the whole Bulgarian liberation movement in the 19th century. Speaking about this 30-year period, it is due to the fear of the Great Powers that Balkan states would not manage to remain stable. That is why they were first given autonomy from the Ottoman Empire before after a number of crises, diplomatic negotiations, and wars they could manage to create independent states. Bulgaria was not an exception.”

The proclamation of independence was backed by several factors. Hear more about them from professor Pantev.

“A few sudden events helped the Bulgarian independence. The latest biggest Balkan crisis started after Austria-Hungary announced its annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. The Ottoman regime significantly weakened due to a number of issues and this gave an opportunity for the independence to be finally proclaimed. Bulgaria was more or less independent but formally it was the Ottoman sultan that used to be the head of state and not the Bulgarian Knyaz.”

The proclamation of independence actually broke an international treaty – the Treaty of Berlin. Still, Bulgaria aimed to show that its independence would not mean that peace would be disturbed.

“More or less Europe was prepared for the proclamation and Bulgaria was doing what other Balkan countries had done, but now in much more dangerous conditions. The Ottoman Empire was starting to understand that it could not guarantee its presence in Europe, anymore.”

Finally in the spring of 1909 the Great Powers recognized the independence of Bulgaria and a new stage of the development of the country started.

“Bulgaria took a path towards the final unification and liberation of all Bulgarian territories. In this respect, when the Balkan war of 1912 started, Bulgaria showed enviable consistency, moderation and cleverness for a young state.”

Englishversion: Alexander Markov